It’s no secret, Colorado has a ton of breweries.
With so much beer to drink and not enough time to do it, Drew Harrilchak has developed a subscription service to bring local beer to the masses.
In February, Harrilchak launched LocalBrews, a Denver-based beer subscription service that has partnered with a series of local breweries.
Each month, subscribers get four 32-ounce crowlers filled with beers from a Denver-area brewery. The beers are delivered to the customer’s door in a custom-made crate and feature a unique variety of beers from each location.
Harrilchak said he first considered the idea of a local beer subscription service as a sophomore at the University of Denver.
“I thought to myself, ‘man there are just so many breweries in Colorado and I have no idea how to distinguish between them,’” he said in a recent interview with Colorado Inno.
He put it on the back-burner until he turned 21, when he entered the DU PioSummer Accelerator Program and further built the business. Harrilchak graduated from DU in June 2018.
Harrilchak has navigated the tricky legal hurdles that come with shipping alcohol by partnering with local liquor store Bonnie Brae. In order for customers to receive the $40 monthly shipment, they must prove they’re older than 21 and sign for the delivery.
In addition to the shipment, LocalBrews also sits down with the brewers to tell their stories in a short documentary. The first month’s shipment from Chain Reaction Brewing Company went out in February and March’s featured brewery is Mockery Brewing.
This month, customers received Mockery’s Salted Scotch Ale, Chai Milk Stout, Peach and Wild Sage Braggot and E.P.K.A IPA.
“So far, we’ve had really positive feedback, people loved the packaging,” Harrilchak said.
In addition to the beer and crate, LocalBrews customers get a card and envelope, complete with a wax stamp.
While there are a number of beer subscription services, such as the twenty year-old Beer of the Month Club, Local Brew is looking to differentiate itself through its local focus, freshness (the crowlers are typically filled the day before) and its storytelling.
As the company grows, Harrilchak said his primary goals are to grow the customer base and spread the word of Colorado’s great breweries.
Ultimately, he hopes to create a model that can prove sustainable enough to be built in other cities.
“The reason I named it LocalBrews was because I would love for it to be a spot where it can move to other cities,” he said. “I hope we can move into other cities and establish little pods that can be self sufficient.”
For more information on the $40 per month LocalBrews subscription, check out the website here.
